Cucumber

Here are my tips for growing great cucumbers:

Site, soil type:

Cucumbers need moderately fertile soil.

Plant cucumbers in full sun.

Use well-drained soil.

Planting requirements:

Plant when the soil is at least 65 degrees.  Cucumbers like warm summer weather.     To get a head start, plant indoors 4 weeks ahead and then transplant.

Cucumbers do not like their roots disturbed when transplanting.

Cucumbers will not tolerate frost.

Nutrition/Fertilizer needs:

Use ½ -1 cup of a complete organic fertilizer per plant.

Water needs:

Keep the soil moist at all times.   Cucumbers may be bitter if they don’t get enough water.

Other tips:

Cucumbers like heat.  Use row covers after planting to give them increased warmth if it’s cool.     Put olive colored plastic down one week before planting to warm soil.  Put holes in the plastic and put plants in the holes.  Olive plastic suppresses weeds but allows the sun to warm the soil.

The are parthenocarpic varieties of cucumbers.  This means that they set fruit without needing pollination.  These parthenogarpic varieties are especially useful in greenhouses, hoophouses, and under row covers.  My favorite variety of cucumber, Diva, is parthenocarpic.

A foliar feed with fish or kelp formula every 14 days makes plants more pest resistant.